By D. Maan, Jadetimes News
Wild Chimpanzees Use Healing Plants to Self Medicate, Scientists Discover
Chimpanzees' Medicinal Plant Use
Wild chimpanzees eat plants with pain relieving and antibacterial properties to heal themselves, according to scientists. In Uganda's forests, researchers observed injured or sick chimpanzees to determine if they were self medicating with plants.
Research and Findings
When an injured chimpanzee sought out specific plants, researchers collected samples for analysis. Many of the plants tested showed antibacterial properties. These findings, published in PLOS One, suggest that chimpanzees might help in the search for new medicines.
Observations in Uganda
Over four years, Dr. Elodie Freymann from the University of Oxford and her team spent months observing two communities of wild chimpanzees in Budongo Central Forest Reserve. They looked for signs of pain and collected droppings and urine samples to check for illness and infection. Special attention was given when a chimpanzee ate something unusual, like tree bark or fruit skin.
Case Study: Injured Male Chimpanzee
Dr. Freymann described a male chimpanzee with a badly wounded hand who sought out and ate ferns. This chimp was the only one in his group to eat these ferns, which turned out to have potent anti inflammatory properties.
Plant Analysis and Results
The researchers collected 17 samples from 13 plant species, which were tested by Dr. Fabien Schultz at Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany. Nearly 90% of the extracts inhibited bacterial growth, and a third had natural anti inflammatory properties, suggesting their potential to reduce pain and promote healing.
Recovery and Implications
All the injured and ill chimps in the study fully recovered, with the fern eating chimp using his hand again within days. While it's not 100% proven that recovery was due to the plants, the study highlights the medicinal knowledge that can be gained from observing wild species and underscores the importance of preserving these ‘forest pharmacies’ for future generations.